National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD)

The NIMHD Mission is to support the advancement of scientific knowledge and improving the health of NIH-designated populations experiencing health disparities.

NIMHD scientific interests emphasize major diseases, conditions, and health-related behaviors that account for a large share of morbidity and mortality and for which substantial differences in risk, disease progression, treatment response, and outcomes are well documented. Priority areas focus on clinically actionable conditions; biologic, behavioral, and environmental mechanisms; early detection and prevention; treatment optimization; and implementation strategies that can improve measurable health outcomes. 

General topics of interest include but are not limited to:

• Cardiometabolic disease
• Cardiovascular disease and stroke
• Maternal health and pregnancy-related complications 
• Cancer prevention, early detection, treatment outcomes, and survivorship 
• Chronic kidney disease
• Asthma and chronic respiratory disease
• Dementia and vascular cognitive impairment
• HIV/AIDS
• Sickle cell disease and other high-burden genetic/hematologic conditions
• Mental illness and suicide prevention
• Tobacco use, substance use, and overdose
• Physical activity, sedentary behavior, and functional decline 
• Nutrition-related behaviors and food-linked chronic disease risk 
• Multimorbidity and high-need/high-cost patients

Cross-cutting scientific approaches include:

• Community engaged research
• Early detection, risk stratification, and predictive analytics
• Mechanistic and translational science 
• Adherence and treatment optimization
• Behavioral science
• Digital health and remote care
• Environmental and exposure science when linked to disease outcomes
• Clinical trials and pragmatic clinical trials
• Data science and real-world data
• Interdisciplinary team science
• Implementation science tied to clinical endpoints

Highlighted Topics

Highlighted Topics identify timely or emerging research priorities across one or more NIH Institutes, Centers, or Offices (ICOs). Use Parent Announcements or other broad NIH opportunities to submit investigator-initiated applications on a topic. While Highlighted Topics do not affect referral or review, some include dedicated funding. See the Highlighted Topic FAQs for details.